Every day is May 11th for Lina Abu Akleh. It is the date of the death of his aunt, the celebrated Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was shot in the head while working in the West Bank. “I feel like I’m stuck in a cycle. It’s a nightmare. A bullet changed our lives,” she says.
There is a growing consensus that Israel has fired on Abu Akleh. That’s what the family, the Palestinian authorities and the foreign press, which conducted their investigations, say. On Friday (24), the UN joined the chorus, pointing out that Israeli forces had fired on Abu Akleh.
Israel denies. The country’s government also claims that if one of its soldiers shot the journalist, it was by mistake — a consequence of being in a combat zone. “They are running away from blame, as they did in the past. They are trying to cover up their crimes,” says the reporter’s niece.
Lina, 27, speaks from Jerusalem, where she has lived since returning from her studies in San Francisco, USA. During the interview, she remembers her aunt as a confidant, mentor, best friend and second mother.
She also remembers what she was forced to see at her wake: Israeli forces attacking the people carrying the coffin, which staggered. “They don’t respect us when we’re alive and they don’t respect us when we’re dead. They violated her right to a funeral,” she says.
What kind of person was Shireen, apart from TV? She was sweet. She had a great heart. She was very funny, too. A lot of people don’t know this, because she was always on TV, an environment where you have to look serious. She was very centered. She was always by my side. We are a very small family. We were six people, now we are just five. She was my confidant, my mentor, my aunt, my best friend, my second mother, and my godmother at church.
The family recently gathered for a mass marking the 40th day of her death. Even after that time, I still feel like it’s May 11th every day when I wake up. I feel like I’m stuck in a cycle. It’s a nightmare. One bullet changed our lives. He killed her and also killed a part of us. A part of my soul was taken away with Shireen.
Media investigations, such as the one published by the New York Times, indicate that Israel is to blame for the shooting. Do you have any hope that the country will take responsibility for the crime? In the end, given their track record, we don’t have much hope. They’ve changed their narrative several times since the time Shireen was killed. They are spreading misinformation. They are trying to cover up their crimes. And some of the press is doing the same thing, feeding the narrative.
But much of the international press has suggested Israel’s guilt. Is there a visible shift in public opinion towards clearer support for the Palestinians? Yes, there is a shift in public opinion, and that is our goal. We want to change the discourse around how Palestinians are represented in the press. We are grateful for factually covering investigations, such as those by CNN and the New York Times, which suggest that Israeli forces fired at her.
There was also a lot of outrage abroad at the scenes of the attacks during the funeral. She was killed twice. She was killed in Jenin and at the funeral, when the Israelis savagely attacked the men carrying the coffin. They tried to get them to drop the coffin, and the whole world saw it. I was there, I was quite traumatized. They don’t respect us when we’re alive and they don’t respect us when we’re dead. They violated her right to a funeral, to dignity. But it doesn’t surprise us. That’s what a state does when it occupies another people.
Why do you think your aunt was shot? She was a Palestinian Christian, a female journalist, well known, very professional. She was objective, but not neutral. She has dedicated her entire life to spreading the truth. It covered all of Palestine from different angles, and that’s not something Israel wants. They don’t want people to see what is happening: Palestinians live under occupation. Shireen gave a voice to the silenced Palestinians. She was the voice of truth. Whoever speaks the truth is a target, and she was shot.
Shireen also had American citizenship. How do you interpret the US reaction? We appreciate the efforts Americans have made from day one. We got a call from Antony Blinken, Secretary of State. At the same time: what now? When are they going to have an independent investigation? Will they hold Israel accountable? The United States talks about democracy, freedom of the press. Why are there two measures? The whole world is holding Russia accountable for its crimes in Ukraine. If Shireen had been killed in Ukraine, the reaction would have been different. There is so much evidence. I don’t know what else we can say. There are witnesses. It’s time for the US to start believing in the Palestinians.
Joe Biden, US president, will visit Israel in July. Which wait? May something positive come out of this visit. Let Israel hold Israel accountable. It is important that the international community continues to talk about the case. What happened to Shireen could have happened to any journalist. It’s important to support her.
